PM’s Adviser Gowher Rizvi says govt cannot be indifferent to rising inequality

Prime Minister’s Adviser Gowher Rizvi has said inequality is rising in Bangladesh despite its imminent graduation from LDC and the government cannot be indifferent to the issue.

The international affairs adviser to the prime minister made the remarks at a discussion titled ‘Bangladesh’s Graduation from the LDC Group: Pitfalls and Promises’ organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue or CPD in Dhaka on Saturday.  

Rizvi also said the government deserved applauds for its efforts to alleviate poverty, but more needed to be done to end it.

“We have achieved the capability to graduate from least developed country status, but the reality is that inequality is still on the rise in the country. We cannot be indifferent to inequality,” he said. 

“We have made many efforts to alleviate poverty. These deserve praise, but we are yet to end poverty,” the PM’s adviser said. 

He emphasised good-governance and tackling corruption in this regard.

“It is proved by statistics that success in poverty alleviation cannot come unless good-governance is ensured. The countries involved in corruption do not get any success in pover alleviation.

“So we must pay attention to these matters,” he said.

CPD Chairman Rehman Sobhan said Bangladesh’s imminent graduation from LDC would be ‘significant’, but advised the government to be ready for the challenges that would follow the event.

“We will not get soft loans after becoming a developing country in 2024. So we will have to adopt such strategies that can help the flow of foreign credits continue into Bangladesh,” he said.

He also suggested taking special measures to ensure foreign direct investment in the country after graduation from LDC.

Both Rizvi and Sobhan emphasise maintaining political stability and strengthening democracy for economic development.

Citing history of the countries that graduated from LDC, CPD Distinguished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said in the keynote paper at the programme those countries faced drop in growth and foreign help.

“Their remittance inflow also dropped in some cases, putting pressure on financial management…but it is notable that foreign investment increased in these countries. Now we’ll have to wait to see whether the same happens to Bangladesh,” he said.

He said efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs and to implement two five-yearly plans would help the government get ready to tackle the challenges after graduation from LDC.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, UNDP Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo, Swedish Ambassador Charlotta Schlyter, and Zahid Hussain, the World Bank’s lead economist for its Dhaka office, also took part in the discussion.